Some facts are just too difficult to fathom. Like images of refugees
washing up on beaches or watching New York’s Twin Towers collapse. When it
comes to the inhumane treatment of mankind we are provoked to think and
act, but responses to the destructible treatment of the planet evokes less
immediate response.

Specifically the harm that the disposable fast fashion industry is causing
to the planet, which according to the United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe (UNECE) is the second-largest user of water globally.

One cotton shirt wastes 2,700 liters of water

To put that into perspective, producing one cotton shirt requires 2,700
liters of water, the equivalent of what one person drinks in 2.5 years.

According to Quartz, fashion is not usually at the top of the agenda for
UNECE, as “its aim is to promote economic integration and cooperation among
its member countries, which include European nations, the US, Canada,
Israel, and several countries in Central Asia.”

At a March 1 event in Geneva, titled “Fashion and the Sustainable
Development Goals: What Role for the U.N.?”, the organization cautioned
that the fashion’s industry’s practice of churning out increasingly large
volumes of cheap, disposable clothing is an “environmental and social
emergency.”

UNECE says the fashion industry has an often underestimated impact on the
development of our planet. 10 percent of the global carbon emissions are
emitted by the apparel industry and cotton farming is responsible for 24
percent of insecticides and 11 percent of pesticides despite using only 3
percent of the world’s arable land

Globally 1 in 6 people work in a fashion related field

As far as waste is concerned, 85 percent of textiles are sent to landfills,
which amounts to 21 billion tons a year. Beyond the environmental impact,
the fashion industry is closely linked to labour, gender and poverty
issues. 1 in 6 people in the world works in a fashion related job, and 80
percent of the labour force throughout the supply chain are women.

The US and Europe have led the way in this behavioral shift, but the
pattern is repeating now in countries such as China. “By 2030, there will
be 5.4 billion people in the global middle class, up from 3 billion in
2015,” the UNECE says. “This will lead to an increased demand for clothes
and other goods that define middle-income lifestyles. If consumption
continues at its current rate, there will be three times as many natural
resources needed by 2050 compared to what was used in 2000.”

Having these numbers in mind, it becomes clear that the development of the
fashion industry has a significant impact on the achievement of the UN
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 12 in particular commits to
ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns and is structured
over eight targets, addressing the use of natural resources, chemical
waste, fossil fuels and the integration of sustainable practices into the
production cycles – all of which apply to the fashion industry.

The UN has not addressed fashion’s impact enough

Despite the variety of efforts by different UN institutions, so far, the UN
has not taken a comprehensive approach to address all aspects of a
sustainable fashion industry. Changing the production and consumption
patterns of the fashion industry, would have a domino effect on many
aspects of development and provide a visible and meaningful contribution to
the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Expected results

A clear link between the fashion industry and the UN SDGs is established
with the ultimate aim to create a UN sustainable fashion partnership to
address this issue in a coherent way.

In summation, Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC) scientist Linda
Greer says it well: “These numbers should better motivate all of
us—multinational apparel retailers and brands, designers, policy wonks,
NGOs, and ordinary customers alike—to more urgent and effective action to
stem the tide of the accelerating damage that the fashion industry is
causing.”